Friday, July 10, 2009

Black Chickpea and Papaya Curry

I am lucky enough to live in a city that has a wide variety of cuisine and markets to find hard to find products. One of my favourite foods is Indian - the combination of flavours, textures and colours is inspiring. There is a famous restaurant in the city called Vij's that serves phenomenal Indian food and next door is their café featuring many of the same recipes for a more affordable price. When I received the restaurant's cookbook as a gift, I started to try many of the recipes in the book. This is one of my favourites and one that has received rave reviews for dinner parties:

Eggplant and Papaya Curry with Black Chickpeas

notes from the book:

We combine roasted eggplant and papaya with black chickpea curry. Don’t buy fully ripened, soft papayas as they become difficult to handle and are too sweet. This dish won’t taste good without the black chickpea curry added to it. The black chickpea curry has many of its own spices, so we’ve used much less spicing in this eggplant-papaya curry.

If you have a grill or barbecue, you can reduce the roasting time by more than half. Just place each eggplant and papaya on a fully heated grill or barbecue. Allow the papaya to cook through for about 15 minutes and the eggplants for 20 to 25 minutes, while turning them regularly. Don’t worry if the skin of the eggplant or papaya has some burn marks on it. These marks will actually deliver a delicious roasted flavour.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 F (230 C). Wrap eggplants and papayas individually in aluminum foil. Place them on a baking tray. Since the papayas will cook faster, place them in the front so you can easily remove them from the oven. Bake papayas for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow them to cool. Continue baking eggplants for 1 hour more or until they are very soft. The eggplants will become mushy and deflated. Remove eggplants from the oven and cool so you can unwrap the foil.

Using a paring knife or potato peeler, peel papayas and discard the skin. Cut papayas in half. With a spoon, scoop out seeds and discard. Purée papaya flesh in a processor or finely mash papayas with your hands.

Using a paring knife, peel skins off eggplant. Using a spoon, scrape off any eggplant stuck to the skins. Discard the skins. Coarsely chop eggplant into a mixing bowl, then using your hands, roughly mash the eggplants. They will have nowhere near the smooth consistency of mashed potatoes. Instead, there will be some chunks. (You can also place the whole eggplants on a large cutting board and dice them into 1/4- to 1/2-inch (0.6 to 1.2 cm) pieces.)

Add the papaya purée to the eggplants and mix well. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy frying pan on medium-high heat for 1 minute.

Add onions and sauté until brown, about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in tomatoes. Add cumin, turmeric, fenugreek, jalapeno pepper and salt. Cook for 10 minutes. Pour the eggplant and papaya mixture into the masala and stir well. Combine the eggplant and papaya curry with the black chickpea curry and heat on medium for 5 to 10 minutes or until the mixture is gently boiling. Stir in chopped cilantro just as you turn off the heat.

To serve: Present this curry on six plates with chapatis or lentil chapatis. Sprinkle dried mint on top of the curry on each plate.

Black Chickpea Curry

For the chickpeas: Wash and drain black chickpeas. Place chickpeas and the water in a bowl and soak overnight, or for at least 6 hours. Note that black chickpeas don’t expand in size the way other beans do after soaking.

Drain chickpeas. Place chickpeas in a large pot with salt and the 61/2 cups (1.625 L) of water. Bring to a boil on high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 1 hour or until chickpeas are cooked through. The outer skin of black chickpeas is thicker than the skin of regular yellow chickpeas, so taste one or mash one between your fingers to be sure they are fully cooked. Do not drain.

For the masala: In a separate large pot, heat ghee on medium-high for 1 minute. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle for about 30 seconds. Add onions and sauté for 8 minutes, stirring regularly, until golden brown. Add garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, then add jalapeno pepper, garam masala, mango powder, turmeric, fenugreek, salt and cayenne. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the masala for 5 to 8 minutes, until ghee glistens on top. Stir in water.

Add boiled chickpeas and their water to the masala. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat, then cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes (this ensures that the spicing has gone into the chickpeas). Stir in cilantro.

Wine: Choose a cool-climate Pinot Blanc, as it has good acidity that complements this curry.

Drain 2/3 of the clam juice into a ziplock and freeze for fishy soups or sauces. The other 1/3 plus the clams go into the food processor plus the other ingredients. Process until smooth, transfer to serving dish and garnish. Serve with radish slices and celery stalks.

* I like to use a smoked salt or infused citrus salt but any salt will do just fine.

Cut greens from the beetroot and wash both well to remove any clinging dirt. Peel beets, quarter and thinly dice. Place in a pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil. Add salt, partially cover and reduce heat. Simmer until the beets are just tender.

While the beets are simmering, finely shred the beet greens with their stems. When the beets are tender, stir the greens and sugar into the pot. Cover and turn off the heat. Let stand 10 minutes. Uncover and cool to room temperature, then chill thoroughly before proceeding. (This step can be prepared up to 2 days in advance, or frozen up to 1 month.)

In a large bowl, combine the beets, greens and cooking water with buttermilk, yogurt, lemon and pickle juice. Season with salt, cracked pepper, sugar or more lemon to get the right balance for your taste buds. Chill the soup for at least one hour before serving.

To serve, stir in the cucumbers, scallions and dill and taste one more time to adjust the seasoning. Serve in chilled bowls.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add eggs; mix well. Add flour, instant coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, salt and chocolate chips;mix thoroughly for 2 to 3 minutes.

Gather the dough together and turn onto a lightly floured board. Using lightly floured hands, roll the dough into 2 or 3 even 1 inch logs. Wrap the logs separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Move oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Slice the chilled logs into 1/4 inch thick coins and then place 1/2 inch apart on the lined cookie sheets.

Bake until lightly golden and firm enough at the edges to slide off the parchment without sticking, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheets set on wire racks.

Tassajara North African Lemon Dressing

This dressing is suggested for salads with tomatoes, sweet onions, cucumbers, peppers, or fruit salads and cottage cheese. At Tassajara, we use it often with salads of lettuce and grapefruit sections. A delicious variation can be made by using limes in place of lemons.

Whisk together the soy, oil, vinegar, and sugar in a small bowl. Then combine the tofu and vegetables in a large bowl. Add dressing, cover bowl and marinate for 8 to 10 hours in the fridge. Drain the vegetables slightly before serving.

Slice blocks of tofu into thirds and then each third into slices, then into cubes. Mix garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, capers, lemon juice, and fresh herbs, if using, in a small bowl. Let stand for a few minutes, and then pour in the olive oil; stir to combine. Coat each piece of tofu with the mixture and then layer in shallow sheet pan. Let stand overnight and serve on platters with a garnish of fresh herbs. Serve at room temperature.

Grind the first 5 ingredients together in a spice mill and set aside. Combine the tomatoes, garlic, ginger, raisins, cayenne, and spice mixture in a heavy skillet. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is evaporated, about 12 minutes.

Add the vinegar, salt and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until thick, about 15 to 20 minutes. Spoon into clean jars and seal or refrigerate.

Tassajara China Moon Eggplant Spread

These Asian flavours make a delicious spread. The sesame oil and brown sugar add dept and sweetness, while freshly grated ginger and dried chili pepper gives the spread a refreshing spiciness. Best if used within a few days.

Roast eggplant. When the eggplant is cool, scrape pulp off skin and puree in a food processor. Stir together the remaining ingredients except sesame oil. Heat a wok with the sesame oil. When the oil is hot, add the sauce and stir a couple of times. Add the puréed eggplant and stir to blend.

Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft. Stir in the quinoa and lightly toast for 1 minute. Stir in the water and salt to taste; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the pan, and gently simmer the quinoa for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Uncover the pan and fluff the quinoa with a fork; transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Purée the eggplant with the cilantro, parsley, soy sauce, and lemon juice in a food processor. Stir this mixture into the quinoa. Adjust seasoning, adding soy sauce, pepper or lemon juice to taste. Garnish with sprigs of cilantro and parsley, if desired.

Grind the walnuts in a food processor until fine. If using silken tofu, wrap in a towel and press with a heavy weight for 30 minutes before using. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend in the food processor or by hand until chunky but a uniform mixture; cover and chill until ready to serve.